Vettel problem revealed as sticking brake pedal

The problem which hampered Sebastian Vettel in yesterday’s Italian Grand Prix has been revealed as a sticking brake pedal, which slowed his car significantly for several laps, costing him a handful of places in the process. This was initially believed to have been caused by an engine problem, as Sebastian was complaining of a loss of power, but it has turned out that the brakes were slightly engaged while the car was on full throttle.

Sebastian Vettel's Italian GP was hampered by brake problems

At the start of Lap 20, Vettel first noticed the problem, which occured at the Parabolica corner the lap before. He lost several seconds a lap, and was overtaken by Mark Webber and Michael Schumacher. While the Renault engine technicians tried out several different presets to solve what they thought was a loss of engine power, the brake pedal became unstuck a few laps later.

Vettel later managed to jump past Webber, Schumacher and Rosberg thanks to staying out until the last lap on his softer tyres.